Press Room

Supporting the worldwide effort to combat wildlife trafficking, Singapore Airlines worked with the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership to raise awareness among members of the air transport community on the illegal trade.

In 2017, new collaborations and strong interest from the transport sector provided hope for highly-trafficked endangered species. The USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership is honored to be included in USAID's article, "Be Inspired: 10 of USAID's Best," which looks back at efforts from the past year that have resulted in some of the greatest impacts.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 2018—TRAFFIC’s collaboration with the global transport and logistics sector through the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership and Wildlife TRAPS Project has been significantly boosted over recent months.

Illegal wildlife trafficking – the fourth largest black market in the world and worth over $20 billion annually to criminal organisations – is now widespread at airports across 114 countries, finds a report published on behalf of ROUTES, a partnership of US government agencies and representatives from transportation and conservation organisations formed to combat the practice.

A new analysis of global airport wildlife seizure and trafficking data reveals that wildlife traffickers around the world are heavily exploiting the air transport sector to smuggle protected and endangered animals and animal products on commercial flights.

The trade in illegal wildlife is estimated to be worth at least $19bn a year. In 2016, over 5,300 kilos of illegal ivory and rhino horn, and over 16,000 trafficked reptiles were seized at airports, either in passenger baggage or cargo shipments.

April 2017 - Members of the air cargo community have led the way in denouncing the illegal wildlife trade, estimated to be worth USD19 billion a year, and pledging to work with authorities in the fight against traffickers, reports Yvonne Mulder.